If you have some time, perhaps take a little wander into the Old Testament, around how God formed man. You will discover that it wasn’t until God breathed life into him that the man actually came alive. I find this concept quite poignant. The breath of God breathed into man providing sustenance in the form of air without which, we all would die. Every breath, I happen to believe, is a gift from God and maybe sometimes we take this for granted. Well I do! Life is busy and breathing just happens by itself, so I don’t have to think about it. But it does make one think that for all life on this planet, other galaxies and everything that is, God has created. What a big God He is!
The Bible itself talks a lot about breathing. It tells us the words in it are God breathed (see 2 Timothy 3:16). We read in John 20:22 that Jesus breathed onto the disciples for them to receive the Holy Spirit and in Psalm 150 we learn that everything that has breath is to praise God.
In all these readings about breath, we discover that there are a multitude of things to be grateful to God for, including those dear to us in our lives. I wonder if might be time to say a ‘thank you’ to those we appreciate. What about a card, a text, an email, a call or a chat with coffee? What a nice way to say ‘thank you’ to show appreciation to those who have blessed us.
I have a group of friends I’ve known for a long time, there are seven of us and we have known each other from our teens. We have had the 18th, 21st, 30th, 40th birthday celebrations etc. And of course the engagements, weddings, births and the rest. I love these girls and they love me. Recently one of us has been doing it tough and in our own way, we are there for her, to show her she is special. Cards, texts, FB posts; whatever, we are there. One couple recently helped them move and cooked meals. Others created a meaningful birthday gift. All these to say: we love you and we appreciate you.
I want to love those people near me and even those not so near. Gosh, it’s important isn’t it? We have one life. I want to give what I can, even if it feels slightly uncomfortable, because it will probably bless the receiver in ways we can’t imagine.
So, this is my thought for you and me today: let’s be grateful for our breath, each and every one and for what or who we are blessed to have been given.
Peta
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